The narrator prepares to approach young Amy in the epilogue

The narrator prepares to approach young Amy Hide in the epilogue, turning a promise of restraint into a scene of menace. From the shade across the street, Mr Wrong watches her leave and readies himself to cross toward her; the passage ends before he does so, suspending the threatened encounter rather than showing its outcome.

The Promise and Its Limits

Mr Wrong frames his intention as a promise not to act unless Amy wants him to or asks him to. Yet he immediately questions whether that condition is realistic at her age and remarks that she is only just legal, making clear that he knows how young she is. The promise sounds like a boundary, but its terms place the burden on Amy to invite an approach rather than on him to keep his distance.

Watching Amy Leave

Amy opens the front door, steps into the afternoon, and shuts it behind her before walking quickly down the path. Mr Wrong is waiting in deep shade on the other side of the street. From there, he can see that she has been crying; his pitying attention is mixed with possessiveness, as he wonders what she is doing to him and insists that she is affecting him in some way.

Compulsion and Suspended Action

The narrator describes a feeling that he has done such things before and is compelled to repeat them, while allowing that the feeling may be common to experiences of this kind. He also says he is tired and no longer in control, language that conflicts with his earlier claim to be making a promise. At the close, Amy hesitates at the end of the path and looks both ways before crossing. Mr Wrong says he can see her hesitation and is about to step into the street, but the epilogue stops before contact occurs. The approach remains imminent, its danger sharpened by the gap between his professed restraint and his declared intention to act.